Guest column: Medical research plays an important role in meeting patient needs

Gianrico Farrugia

Thursday

Apr 13, 2017 at 6:13 PM

Ingenuity, innovation and hard work have been the key drivers of our state’s economic destiny.

The support of state and federal governments, the private sector and philanthropy must continue to advance research, promote discovery and develop the next generation of scientists and innovators. This is vital to solve the threats to public health while maximizing the tremendous economic benefit of innovation for Florida’s communities.

While we are concerned about the funding level for research in the administration’s draft budget, we are confident that our federal delegation in Congress will work hard to make certain that research will be funded appropriately.

However, we would like to challenge our elected officials to focus on improving the value of this investment to the benefit of patients, our economy and our global competitiveness.

A January 2017 Zogby Analytics survey reported that 76 percent of Americans agreed that basic scientific research that advances the frontiers of knowledge is necessary and must be supported by the federal government. Research translates to meeting the unmet needs of patients.

The public also understands that health care is a critical driver in our economy. Floridians know that the total direct and indirect economic output of the biopharmaceutical sector is $31.2 billion employing almost 150,000 individuals with good paying jobs. Research and development is a proven pathway to a stronger economy.

Mayo Clinic is a committed partner in accelerating Florida’s economy.

While the NIH budget over the past decade has remained flat with the exception of some targeted funding from the 21st Century Cures Act, Mayo Clinic has doubled our investment in research.

With Florida having the second highest cancer burden in the nation, Mayo Clinic’s research is heavily focused on cancer. Right now we are testing a vaccine that could become a gold standard therapy and prevent recurrence of breast cancer, and testing drugs that starve cancers.

We also are developing mechanisms for the body’s immune system to protect itself from cancer.

Similarly, much of our brain research focuses on Alzheimer’s from accelerating therapies to prevention and treatment of this disease, which today affects the lives of more than half a million Floridians.

From the discovery in our labs to translation and testing in clinical trials to application in our practice and across the world, we are committed to developing bridges to accelerate research and bring new solutions to patients.

With this backdrop we ask our leaders to reframe — to expand — the conversation about support for research to include three elements: provide for predictable and sustainable funding levels, fund the full spectrum of research and reduce the regulatory burden on research.

Predictable and sustainable funding will support research in our country and for Florida, which today ranks No. 12 in terms of federal support for research funding. This ranking must change. We must be committed to do better in Florida for our patients, for our communities and to work with our elected officials to understand what we all need to do to be more successful.

We must examine how we capture learning from all research to the benefit of future research. Knowledge lost or not sustained with follow-on use is no longer acceptable. Technology permits it; patients demand it.

Finally, streamlining and harmonizing the rules and regulations from the multiple federal agencies is essential. Such action, while bureaucratically complex, would save administrative dollars allowing more funding and time to be dedicated to the work of research. If government agencies could collaborate to provide for single set of guidelines, rules and reporting requirements, more time and resources could be devoted to the process of discovery.

This is no time to reduce federal investment in research. We must maximize the value of our research investment for patients and our economy — today and tomorrow.